Fallout: Hell's Prelude
by Captain Rodolpho
Summary: In the final hours of America's reign, a single action changes the future. Follow up story is on my profile under "Enclave Ascendant"


**The year is 2077, and the world only knows war.**

**Nations turned Gods have fought and bled over borders and resources, but today, it finally ends. The war is over.**

**October 23, 2077. The White House.**

**America's heart had stopped. Interns and politicians alike froze in place, unable to process the reports before them. Defcon one had been declared. Full mobilization of all nuclear assets was underway and the vaults were closing. It was happening, the moment they had both wished for and dreaded these last eleven years, expecting to cheer and rise as their hated enemies were washed away in nuclear fire. But this was not what they had imagined. The Chinese had launched first, their missiles unleashing the heart of a sun in a steady line marching across California.**

**"Sir!" A general declared, finally recovering from his shock. "Mister president, we have to go!"**

**He rose from his seat.**

**"The bombs will be here within hours, we need to leave now"**

**The president, to his credit, was much calmer than his subordinates. "No," He stated. "I think not." He remained in his seat, and beckoned an intern over. "Excuse me miss, would you be so kind as to call the camera crew? I need to make an address."**

**The general sat, incredulously staring at the president and his calm demeanor. "Have you gone mad?" He asked. "There is a full scale nuclear assault coming, and you want to call a camera crew?" The president stood, and addressed his cabinet.**

**"Gentlemen, we have one chance to make this right." He said, the others in the room finally rising from their stupor. "The American people need to know that even though Armageddon knocks on our door, we will remain united. We cannot afford to lose their trust, lest our civilization falls to the predations of the communists." His advisors did not seem convinced that they shouldn't run for the nearest vault, so he began to speak again.**

**"We are the only country prepared to survive the coming night. We are the only country that Will survive the harsh winter to come. But, while the vaults will protect us physically, It falls to us few to preserve our spirit under the fog of Radiation to come."**

**"If America is to outlast her enemies, she cannot fall prey to those within herself that threaten to tear her apart. Her heart must remain intact, unmolested by the degenerates that will crop up in the coming years."**

**The camera crew finally arrived, and the president prepared himself. The crew gestured to him, ...1.**

**America turned to its televisions and saw not a broken and scarred man like what might have been, but instead saw their president, standing tall against the apocalypse.**

**"My fellow Americans, though the shroud of death hangs above us, we will not bow to it. The Chinese think that their bombs are the final arbiter of war, that they will break us and reap the spoils. But they forget one thing. We are America. We withstood the predation of the British empire, the strife of civil war, and won two world wars by ourselves." He took a breath. "They think they can end us with war, they think their bombs will lay us low, but we shall call out into the night. We shall stand firm in the face of destruction, and proclaim our names before God. Once the dust is settled there will be a reckoning. We shall rise from the ashes, stronger than before, and they will know true destruction. Goodnight, America, I'll still be here tomorrow." The people around him had been still up to that point, but one by one they stood. The camera had been shut off, and a silence hung over the room. "We will survive, as we have always survived."**

**"How, sir?" A grin crossed the president's face. "In Enclaves."**

**Testing the waters for an Enclave fic, seeing as there are so few that are not OC's leaving and turning "good". Reviews (no matter how meh) would make this happen, so fill the box with words! -The Captain**


End file.
